Review: Avengers Vol. 3- Prelude to Infinity

Quick Summary

Pros: The storytelling is interesting and does well in commanding attention. Portions of the volume feature pleasant changes in pace. Most of the action is exciting and fun. The volume ends with tons of potential for future stories. The entire book is filled with nice visuals, especially at the beginning.

Cons: Some of the action sequences feel inconsequential.

Overall: This book continues the positives that have been present throughout this series and also further pushes the narrative into the future. Here, readers will see the Avengers go face to face with powerful enemies, allowing for some very interesting story elements to bloom and for some awesome action to play out. The entire volume captures attention and leaves the reader ready to pick up the next chapter. Anyone who has been enjoying the series so far should definitely read this volume.

Story

Avengers Vol. 3: Prelude to Infinity, by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Spencer, is a success, both as an individually entertaining adventure and as a way to move the series forward. A solid portion of the book is introspective in nature and ponders questions relating to the structure of the Marvel Multiverse and nature of humanity as a whole. The rest of the book is exciting action that gives readers a chance to see “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” fight a few powerful threats. The volume also contains a nice mixture of low and high stakes that allow for a diverse reading experience. Overall, this is a very entertaining read that continues to prove this is a series worth exploring.

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Prelude to Infinity starts out with two chapters of low-stakes storytelling that are refreshingly different from the epic occurrences found in previous volumes. This story shows the Children of the Sun learning from and being quickly saved by the Avengers. The low-stakes nature of this story allows for an introspective pondering about the nature of need and allows readers to see what the Avengers are like in their downtime. It also provides a humanizing view of Thor and Hyperion, two godlike characters who would normally be hard to humanize.

From here, the stakes ramp back up again, as a new enemy is introduced and Starbrand’s power is elaborated upon. These story elements are interesting on their own but are even more so when viewed in the context of the greater narrative this series has established. In this way, readers get a more accurate feel for the crisis that Earth is facing and, thus, become more involved with the story being told.

This portion of the collection is also where the majority of the book’s action and excitement is derived. The introduction of a powerful new enemy immediately lends itself to a battle with fitting levels of power and might. This leads to an exciting exchange of blows that allows a number of different Avengers to have their time in the spotlight. The only flaw here is that Banner’s transformation into the Hulk feels completely inconsequential to the narrative and really only manages to distract from the story’s more interesting points. However, this portion of the collection is still very exciting and works well overall.

Prelude to Infinity also continues its predecessors’ tradition of constantly building potential to be utilized in the future. This volume has A.I.M. gain an incredibly powerful weapon, has the heroes discover a larger threat, and ends by adding three incredibly powerful wildcards to the Avengers roster. All of this is material that will surely play out nice as the series progresses.

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Art

Prelude to Infinity starts out with two chapters from Mike Deodato. Though the indoor locations seen here are lackluster, the outdoor ones are incredible. Deodato imbues the Savage Land with a ton of detail in both the environments and in the creatures that inhabit them. Pages here feature landscapes where it seems as if you could count thousands of tree leaves or blades of grass. This makes the world here feel more real and further helps enhance suspension of disbelief.

The rest of the volume contains art from Stefano Caselli. The artwork here is not quite as elaborate or incredibly detailed as the beginning of the book, but this change in style suites the change in story. This portion of the book is about epic battles and violent confrontations, which might not play out well if portrayed with heavy levels of detail. Instead, the more stylized approach from Caselli captures this action well. Overall, this artistic changeup suits the story being told and helps make this a better book.

Continuity

Avengers Vol. 3: Prelude to Infinity continues the story from Avengers Vol. 2: The Last White Event (Review).

The story here continues in Avengers Vol. 4: Infinity (Review).

This volume also makes a reference to other comic books, detailed below:

• The end of Iron Man Vol. 1: Believe (Review) explains why Tony Stark is in space.
• Spider-Man unusually abrasive personality can be explained by the beginning of the Superior Spider-Man series, collected in Superior Spider-Man: The Complete Collection Vol. 1.
• Earth’s status as a “multiversal fracture point” is explained in New Avengers Vol. 1: Everything Dies (Review).